


Fake It Till You Make It

by Chaos_and_Roses



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Mother!Nana, Bad Person!Nana, Bless Takeshi, Bullying, Business, Confessions, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I'm not sure where this came from, I'm so sorry, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kinda, Love Confessions, Luckily, M/M, OOC Reborn, Or suicide attempt I guess, Sawada Iemitsu's A+ Parenting, Sawada Nana's A+ Parenting, Self-Esteem Issues, Shipping Companies, Tsuna just wants to succeed at something dammit, Tsuna's pretty on brand tho, but it's depressing, companies, in my opinion anyways, it's implied - Freeform, or I would have cried a lot more, past emotional abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24998482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaos_and_Roses/pseuds/Chaos_and_Roses
Summary: No matter how many times Tsuna's failed over the years nothing's managed to hurt him as much as this. Having everything he ever wanted at his fingertips only to have it ripped away due to his own cowardice burned worse than anything else. He really was just the same Dame-Tsuna as he had been back in school and he didn't know when he'd managed to convince himself otherwise.
Relationships: Reborn/Sawada Tsunayoshi
Comments: 16
Kudos: 190





	Fake It Till You Make It

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So, this is a very depressing fic, I'm fairly certain I shed a few tears writing it. There's also quite a bit of cursing hence the rating.
> 
> KHR belongs to Amano Akira

He ruined _everything._

There was no excuse. He had every chance, and _still_ , he had managed to fuck it up.

Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up in the first place. Maybe he should’ve known that _Dame_ -Tsuna would live up to his nickname once again.

Because that was what he was.

_Useless._

Really it was no one’s fault but his own. 

How many times had Reborn offered him what he wanted? Dangled it in front of him. Put it so far within his reach that even a toddler could have grabbed it.

How many times had Basil encouraged him? Switched jobs with him and told him to just _say it?_ Say what he fucking felt.

And he couldn’t do it.

He was a goddamn _coward_ and now that he was all alone he had no one to blame but himself.

“Where to sir?”

He glanced up at the taxi driver.

“Can you just drop me in front of Namimori Middle?”

“Sure I can.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments before the driver spoke up again.

“Did you grow up here?”

Tsuna’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Yeah.”

A beat.

“So you’re visiting relatives?”

“Sure.”

He didn’t want to go into it. He didn’t want to _talk._

Yes, he was here to see family, but it was more complicated than that. How could he– this driver– how could a stranger possibly understand?

“Cool.” God, was he still talking? “Parents? Or grandparents?”

“Parent.” He responded curtly, emphasizing the lack of plurality.

Out of the corner of his eye, Tsuna could see the driver frown at him before falling silent. Seemingly accepting the lack of conversation.

Tsuna looked out the window in a daze.

How had things come to this?

He only graduated from high school about a year ago. _Barely_ graduated.

He started looking for jobs, knowing that, with his pathetic performance in school, he wouldn’t be able to make it to college.

He sent in applications to plenty of companies but was actually surprised when one of them offered him a job. _Him? They wanted him?_

That surprise didn’t last long though because he quickly found out that the company was part of Vongola Corp. The multinational, multi-million dollar company that his dad helped run.

The delivery company had been bought by Vongola Corp. five years prior, and his father had pulled strings to get him the job. His absentee father who he hadn’t seen since his 12th birthday got him the fucking job.

And Tsuna _hated_ that. Would he never stop relying on others? Would he never stop letting people down?

Honestly, after school, he fully expected to end up on the streets. As sad as it sounded, he’d resigned himself to that because that's what he deserved for being so useless.

But there he was, getting saved again.

He took the job.

Of course he took the job. No matter how much he hated it he couldn’t turn it down.

No. Even if his father had handed it to him on a silver platter, this could be his chance. He wasn’t _that_ stupid, and he knew how to take an opportunity as well as the next person.

_This could be it._ That was what he’d thought. _This could be my chance to get better. This could be my chance to accomplish something._

What was even better was that the position was down in Tokyo. There, no one would know who he was. There, he could have a new beginning.

And everything went according to plan. He threw everything into his work, and he excelled. Eventually, people began to think of him as someone they could rely on, and that made him so proud he could hardly stand it.

_Finally._ He thought. _Finally._

And if he was only so reliable because of his lack of life outside of work, no one needed to know. He had long since condemned himself as a social failure, and it wasn’t like anyone cared anyway.

He even managed to make friends. Work friends, but friends nonetheless. They– Basil and Shoichi– weren’t people that he’d hang out with in his free time, but at least he could hold comfortable, fun conversations while they worked. Right? _Right?_

Everything changed when he met Reborn. It happened on a job.

Tsuna had finished for the day, and drove the truck back to headquarters, and went to make sure there was nothing else he could help with. There was.

Basil was frantic. The moment he caught sight of Tsuna he’d lunged for him, looking relieved. He explained that a last-minute delivery had come in and that it was urgent.

The blond was his manager and as such wasn’t supposed to deliver anything, but this was so important that Basil had just about gone to do it himself.

Tsuna, of course, agreed to help and was given the package and address along with a warning to be nothing but polite to this client.

He’d been a bit offended at that. When had he been anything but polite? Instead of voicing his thoughts, he just agreed.

The client was a member of Arcobaleno Co. apparently. That’s why they were so important.

Everyone knew Arcobaleno Co. just as everyone knew Vongola Corp.

They were massive businesses, far-reaching in practically every market. Arcobaleno Co., however, was famous for an entirely different reason.

The owner, Luce Giglio-Nero, had dedicated her life to charity. So much so that around 20 years ago she’d adopted 7 orphans. Each of the seven split off from Arcobaleno and built their own companies from the ground up. Those businesses were later absorbed into Arcobaleno Co.

Even Tsuna knew that, especially after listening to his mother’s lectures growing up.

_Your father is a successful man. He works for Vongola Corp. Tsuna. Do you know what Vongola Corp. is? Why do you want to know about Arcobaleno Co.? Wouldn’t you rather know about your father’s work? Why can’t you do anything right? Why can’t you be more like your father? Maybe you’d have turned out different if your father was here. Maybe you wouldn’t be so goddamn_ useless. _Useless, useless, useless. What did I do wrong to deserve a son like you, you stupid child?_

A bitter smile spread across his face.

“We’re here.”

Tsuna forced his eyes into focus. Sure enough, Namimori Middle School rose up in front of them.

He forced his gaze back towards the driver, inclining his head awkwardly. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing.” The man said, accepting his money.

“Keep the change,” Tsuna called over his shoulder as he exited the cab.

He stepped onto the sidewalk, looking up at his old middle school. Tsuna’s eyes darkened. So many memories, practically none of them good.

Shaking his head, Tsuna turned and started walking home.

It started to rain.

It was raining that day, too. When he met Reborn.

He took the package from Basil and threw it in the passenger seat of the truck. On the way to Arcobaleno Co.’s Tokyo branch, the rain started coming down hard. So hard he could barely see.

He’d arrived unscathed despite a few close calls and hurried inside. He hadn’t expected the rain so he hadn’t bothered with a jacket, let alone an umbrella. 

The resulting soaking wet clothes hung from his frame loosely as he rushed through the building, ignoring the odd looks he was getting.

What he couldn’t ignore was Reborn’s opening comment about it.

“Who are you and why do you look like a drowned rat?” The raven turned in his chair to pick up a cloth napkin from what looked like an empty dinner plate. He tossed it to him, mouth rising into an amused smirk as Tsuna struggled to catch it while holding the package. “Use that to dry off. As much as you can, anyway.”

“Um– Th-thank you?” Tsuna said, then moved forward to set the package down on Reborn’s desk. “Sorry, for bothering you, sir. I’m with Rocket Delivery, this package came in for you today, Mr… ?”

That’s right. He hadn’t known Reborn’s name back then– Well, he’d known the name, just not the face that went with it. Either way, it had led to severe teasing further down the line.

“Sinclair. Renato Sinclair, but everyone calls me Reborn.” His smirk widened. “And do I get a name, Mr. Rocket Delivery?”

“Oh– um, Tsuna. I mean, Sawada. Tsunayoshi Sawada. Sir.”

“Alright, _Tsuna._ ”

And that had been that. One encounter, that was it.

Until it happened again.

And again.

And _again._

Honestly, the first few times could have been mere coincidence, but the more it happened the more Tsuna became convinced the man was ordering things just to see him.

Or, he had the suspicion for 0.5 seconds before his crippling self-esteem issues shut it down.

But really, it was _always_ him. They always sent him, probably because the first delivery seemed to have gone so well, and the other employees were afraid of Reborn.

Soon Basil caught on, who told Shoichi. The two of them were insufferable.

They insisted Tsuna’s earlier thought about the true nature of Reborn’s deliveries was accurate. Furthermore, they (unfortunately) noticed his own rather obvious crush on the businessman.

Alright, it may have been more than a crush. 

They didn’t have to point that out, though.

Despite the teasing encouragement and the painful ache in his chest that developed whenever he saw Reborn, he kept quiet.

He kept quiet, and kept quiet, and kept quiet.

Even when Reborn started to be more obvious about his own attraction. Even when the raven started asking to meet outside of a professional setting. Even when Reborn took him on excursions (not dates, they weren’t dates) and flirted heavily with him for the entirety of said trips.

Every time Tsuna either brushed him off or blushed and walked away. And every time Reborn just smiled patiently and continued their conversation like it hadn’t happened. It was like he knew. He knew and was content to wait.

Somehow Tsuna convinced himself of that. That he, _Dame-_ Tsuna, was important enough to the gorgeous, lady killer of the Arcobaleno to be _waited_ for.

As if.

In the time Tsuna had gotten to know Reborn, he’d met a few people. Not Luce, or any of Reborn’s siblings, but he did meet Bianchi.

Bianchi was Reborn’s ex, and although their dynamic seemed a bit strange to Tsuna, they were friends.

At first, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around it, they had dated and now they weren’t, but they were close. _Really_ close.

Regardless, he’d accepted it and moved on. Bianchi and he even got along. 

Somewhat, anyway. She still seemed to think he was beneath her, but in his opinion that was fairly accurate.

So when Reborn disappeared, he went to her.

Not at first.

When the deliveries and the offers for excursions stopped his first thought was that Reborn was busy. He was a huge part of Arcobaleno Co., the thought wouldn’t be too far fetched.

So, he started texting him a bit (a lot, but not enough to be annoying), just some reminders to eat, sleep, stay healthy. Those weren’t anything new, he reasoned, they wouldn’t be questioned.

What _was_ new, however, was the lack of replies. Reborn was good at responding. He always answered messages within 24 hours, 48 if he was swamped with work. So receiving no answer at all was alarming.

His next thought was that he must’ve done something wrong. He must have said something, or done something to offend the man. Reborn must be angry at him.

He sat on that thought for a few days, anxiety and guilt crawling up his throat, choking him.

It didn’t help that by then Basil and Shoichi had practically given up on him.

He couldn’t blame them. No. He deserved it.

How much time had they wasted on him? Waiting for him to get off his ass?

He admired them for even keeping up with their meager friendly acquaintanceship. If he were in their shoes he would’ve walked out a long time ago.

The point was that it took him a couple of days to work up the courage to visit Reborn. He’d stood in front of the building several times, but it took him a week to actually make it inside.

He went into the building, and up the elevator, only to be told by his secretary that Reborn wasn’t in town. So, he texted Bianchi.

They met the next day during his lunch break at a cafe next to Rocket Delivery headquarters.

She got there before him, so he quietly slipped into the chair across from hers and observed her expression, trying to see if she was angry with him or not. Surely if he’d upset Reborn she’d have heard about it.

His heartbeat picked up at the look on her face when she turned to face him.

“Hey, Bianchi.” He said, trying to keep his voice level.

“Hi.” She responded flatly.

Tsuna swallowed thickly. “I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll just ask. Have you–”

“You don’t want to waste my time?” She barked out a laugh, a twisted, hurtful sound. “You’ve been wasting my time for months. Hell, you’ve been wasting _Reborn’s_ time for months. Couldn’t you have just fucked off from the start?”

He gaped at her. “I–Uh, I–”

“Don’t even bother.” She sneered at him. “I’ve heard enough of your voice, just listen.”

She leaned across the table, a cold look in her eye.

“You are a useless, stupid, pathetic piece of shit. You’re trash. You. Are. Nothing. People like you don’t belong around people like Reborn and, for whatever reason, he couldn’t see that. I humored him, meeting you and everything, hoping you’d amount to _something._ But that was all a waste of time. _You_ are a waste of time. Reborn shouldn’t have even given you the time of day, and yet he gave you months of his life, waiting for you to _maybe_ acknowledge that he loved you. And instead of jumping at the chance to be with someone so wonderful, you did nothing. You strung him along.”

Tsuna watched her, eyes wide.

“Well, you know what? He’s done. He’s done wasting time. He’s done waiting for you. This was the opportunity of a lifetime for someone like you, and you wasted it. So congratulations. You ruined _everything._ ”

He opened his mouth to say something, only for no words to come to him. His jaw hung open uselessly.

_Useless, useless, useless._

Bianchi stood. “I hope you get the fucking hint now. Stay away from both of us, and don’t contact us again.”

_Coward, coward, coward._

Had Reborn really been waiting for him all this time? Him? Sure, he’d suspected as much, but it seemed so far fetched that _Reborn_ of all people could like him.

It may have taken him a while, but _come on_ , they couldn’t have really expected Tsuna to believe Reborn could like him like that. The man was everything Tsuna had ever wanted, and it’s not like he, Dame- fucking- Tsuna, could possibly get that lucky. Right?

He felt tears rising, burning beneath his eyelids.

He’d felt so lucky, so _blessed_ to even have Reborn as a friend. Someone like that, wanted to be friends with him, _can you imagine?_

How could he be expected to confess his feelings when the only real friendship he’d ever had had the potential to be ruined because of it?

Maybe– Maybe that made him a coward, but– _Fuck._

Tsuna stopped walking. He closed his eyes and let the freezing rain water soak into his skin.

He’d called in sick to work after that, saying he got food poisoning. He stumbled home and collapsed into bed and sobbed.

And sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed.

He cried the rest of the day, until he fell asleep.

And God, maybe that was dramatic, but the one person who had ever truly been interested in him, for the sake of being interested in him, was gone.

He’d walked away because Tsuna was a fucking coward.

He grit his teeth and started walking again.

He’d withdrawn from Basil and Shoichi after that, retreating into his work.

When met with their concern he just smiled and told them everything was fine.

He learned to do that too.

Smile.

Smile when you walk into the office in the morning. Smile when people talk to you. Smile when you do your job.

_Smile, smile, smile._

It doesn’t matter if it isn’t real.

_Smile, smile, smile._

Always.

Even if you don’t mean it.

Smile.

It’s not like anybody actually cared. He’d been kidding himself if he really thought moving would change the fact that people thought he was a worthless piece of shit.

The problem wasn’t the town.

The problem was him.

Just fake it.

_Fake it, fake it, fake it._

They don’t care if he’s happy, they care if he puts in the effort for his facade of happiness. It doesn’t even have to be convincing. It just has to be present.

_Fake it, fake it, fake it._

Just smile.

Even if it’s obviously fake, it lets people carry on with their lives and pretend everything’s fine. Even if it’s not. They can tell themselves later on they didn’t notice.

He deserved this anyway.

The world gave him a chance.

One chance.

And he threw it away.

So, he’d take his punishment, and keep plastering on his ugly mask, and pretend like his heart didn’t break every time he woke up.

He’d been kidding himself when he moved and thought he could have a fresh start.

As if he wasn’t Dame-Tsuna.

As if he didn’t poison everything he touched.

He collided with something solid.

He stumbled, reaching out to the wall to steady himself.

“Tsuna?”

He looked up, disoriented.

_The halls are crowded with people– girls– trying to catch a glimpse of him. They know he won the game for the team yesterday, and they heard he broke his arm this morning. Before school._

_There’s so many people._

_Talking._

_They’re all talking._

_They’re so loud._

_Tsuna hates crowds._

_He fights his way through them. Scoffing as one girl stands on her tippy toes._

_They don’t know he’s already gone. Gone as soon as lunch started. Faster than even him as he hid from his bullies._

_He’s walking up, up, up to the roof. He’s stepping into the burning sun._

_There._

_There he is._

_Right on the other side of the railing._

_On the other side of the railing._

_Words._

_Words are pouring out of his mouth. He’s speaking. Desperately._

_He’s Dame-Tsuna, but he’s the only one who can help him._

_He finally gets the right words out._

_Stop. Stop that, stop smiling. Don’t fucking smile unless you mean it._

God, he’s such a hypocrite.

_No, Takeshi doesn’t have to fake his smile because people care about him. You’re a worthless piece of trash and no one cares about your pain._

He summoned a smile onto his face.

“Hey, Takeshi.”

The former baseball star’s eyes went wide. His expression went stony.

“Don’t.” Takeshi took a step forward, then another. He closed the distance between them and caught Tsuna’s arm in a strong grip. “What the hell are you doing?!”

The smile wavered but didn’t drop. “Sorry?”

“Why’re you– Stop it! You’re the one who told me not to smile if I didn’t mean it. Don’t bother smiling if it’s fake.”

He stared at Takeshi, forcing his mask to stay in place. It was strange. They were never really friends. Takeshi, of course, tried to approach him after the fact, but it never amounted to anything.

By then Tsuna was already so used to being alone, no friends, no acquaintances, no allies that he couldn't really give Takeshi the friendship he was looking for. Not that the baseball player ever stopped being nice to him.

Still, Takeshi shouldn’t be able to read him this well.

Maybe it was because it was how he used to look.

“Who says I’m faking it? I’m just happy to see you.” Still, Tsuna held onto the lie.

Takeshi looked pained, but no longer angry. “Tsuna,” He whispered. “You’re crying.”

Tsuna blinked, reaching a hand up to his face. It was wet.

“Don’t be silly, it’s just the rain.”

“It’s not raining anymore.”

Tsuna looked up. It wasn’t.

His lips quivered and another tear trickled down his cheek.

The smile fell.

A sob broke out of his throat.

He brought a hand up to cover his mouth, tears now streaming furiously down his face.

“I’m sorry.” He choked out.

Takeshi pulled him into a hug, letting him cry into his shoulder.

_Reborn._

Fuck.

_Fuck._

He loved him so much it fucking _hurt._

Love wasn’t supposed to hurt.

It wasn’t supposed to feel like this.

Love was supposed to be beautiful. It was supposed to make you feel complete.

It wasn’t supposed to make you feel like there’s an unfillable hole in your chest.

Why did he have to fall for someone so far out of his reach?

After a while, his cries quieted. He pulled back, sniffling, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Sorry.” He repeated, voice a bit hoarse.

Takeshi looked him over, worry clouding his expression.

“Don’t be sorry.” He hesitated. “I know we aren’t exactly friends, but would you come back to Pop’s restaurant with me? We can go to the back room. It might help for you to talk to someone who understands, even if only a little.”

Tsuna winced. “I don’t want to waste your time.”

_You’re a waste of time. You ruined_ everything.

“You’re not.” Takeshi insisted. “You’re not a waste of time.”

_You’re a waste of time._

_You’re not a waste of time._

_You’re–_ “You’re not! Seriously.” The baseball star repeated.

_I’m not a waste of time?_

Tsuna found himself nodding. “Alright.”

Takeshi nodded back encouragingly and took a few steps in that direction, tugging on his sleeve as if to make sure he was coming.

Tsuna followed, letting himself be led through the painfully familiar streets of Namimori.

Neither of them talked, Takeshi seemed to know (thank God) that he didn’t want to speak or listen. He needed time to brace himself to tell the story. Even though he’d been playing it in his mind over and over since it happened, it was a whole different pain saying it aloud. The kind that just made you feel raw and numb.

They stepped into Takesushi. Tsuyoshi called out an enthusiastic greeting, which he returned with a half-hearted wave, reminding himself he didn’t need to smile. If Takeshi could tell the difference, Tsuyoshi would be able to too.

He kept his eyes trained on the ground, unable to look anyone in the eye until they made their way up the stairs and into the small living room they had in their upstairs apartment.

“Please sit,” Takeshi said, motioning to the couch.

He sat, watching as Takeshi took a seat across from him.

The baseball star smiled sympathetically at him. “Take as much time as you need, I know how hard this can be.”

Tsuna nodded and took a deep breath.

“It’s a long story.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

He ended up sleeping over.

As predicted, the story took a long time to explain in full and it was rapidly getting dark.

Tsuyoshi had closed up the restaurant and when he came up the stairs to find Tsuna in their living room, he insisted that he stay the night.

_“Your mom won’t mind, will she?” The sushi chef asked._

_Tsuna shook his head. “No. She didn’t even know that I was coming in today.”_

_Takeshi hummed thoughtfully. “You know, I’m kind of surprised that you’re visiting at all.”_

_Tsuna shot him a confused look. “What do you mean?”_

_“Well,” He hesitated. “I hope I’m not overstepping, but I remember how she treated you on graduation day, and I guess I kind of assumed you’d get the hell out of here and stay away.”_

_Tsuna nodded glumly. “Yeah. She’s always like that. Angry and kind of… toxic. I guess I never really had the courage to tell her I wouldn’t visit. I thought about it this year, after meeting Reborn. But then everything went to shit and she called right in the middle of it. So here I am.”_

_Takeshi shot him a worried look but nodded understandingly._

“You know, I think you should call him.”

Tsuna looked across the dark room to where Takeshi was lying on the other couch, choosing to stay in the living room with him.

“What?” He asked.

“Reborn.” Takeshi clarified. “I think you should call him.”

Tsuna frowned. “Takeshi, he wants nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t buy that.”

“What?”

“I mean, I think that you think that.” Takeshi rushed to explain. “I just don’t believe that Reborn actually wants nothing to do with you.”

“What do you mean? Bianchi–”

“I know that’s what Bianchi told you, but didn’t you say she’s his ex?”

“Um, yeah.” He said slowly.

“And you never got confirmation directly from Reborn?”

“No, I– Wait, you think Bianchi made this up? Because what? She’s jealous?” He asked.

“Well, yeah,” Takeshi said. “Like, I know they were friends and all, but from how you describe their interactions it sounds like she still had feelings for him. Plus I can’t believe Reborn would just lose interest in you.”

Tsuna furrowed his brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He was so patient with you. He never ever pushed you and was always really sweet to you. That doesn’t sound like the behavior of someone who’s considering moving on. It sounds like he was prepared to wait for you to be comfortable enough to make the first move.”

Tsuna sat up, turning to stare at Takeshi’s silhouette. “You think so?”

Takeshi sat up as well. “Yeah.”

“What about the fact that he ignored my texts and voicemails?”

“About that, I don’t know. But there has to be an explanation. It wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.”

Tsuna frowned to himself, listening to the hum of the air conditioner in the background.

“What should I do then?” He asked.

“Like I said. Call him.”

“But,” He paused, biting his lip. “He never answered my calls before. Why would he start now?”

Takeshi reached over and turned on a lamp.

“Couldn’t you call the front desk of Arcobaleno Co.’s Tokyo branch?”

Tsuna stared at him, eyes wide. “That’s only for business!” He whispered forcefully.

Takeshi thought about that for a moment. “Well… yeah. But you could just ask the person at the front desk if he’s busy. Say that you lost his number and you were wondering if he has time to take a personal call.”

Tsuna hesitated. “You really think that’ll work?”

Takeshi grinned at him. “Positive.”

Tsuna mulled it over for a minute, staring at his phone contemplatively.

_What’s the worst that could happen? What are they gonna do? Tell you you can’t talk to him?_

He nodded slowly.

“Ok.” He said. “Yeah, ok. Let’s do this.”

Takeshi grinned triumphantly. “Yes!”

Tsuna unlocked his phone and looked up the number online. He pressed the phone to his ear, heart thundering in his chest.

The phone clicked.

“Hello, this is the Tokyo Branch of Arcobaleno Co., how may I help you?”

“Um, hello.” He started, glancing at Takeshi for encouragement. The baseball star gave him a thumbs up. “I was wondering if Mr. Sinclair was busy at the moment.”

There was a small silence.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, sorry.” He said quickly. “I know Mr. Sinclair personally and seem to have lost his number. I was wondering if he was busy or if he had time to take a personal call.”

There was another small silence.

“I see. I believe that would be alright, but let me check. What’s your name?”

“Tsuna.” He said, reminding himself to breathe.

“Alright, just one moment, please.”

Tsuna took a deep breath.

“What’s happening?” Takeshi whispered to him.

“She’s checking with Reborn to see if it’s ok.” He explained.

“Hello?”

Tsuna froze. This voice wasn’t the soft, bubbly voice of the lady from the front desk. It was deep and rich, spoken in a soothing baritone.

_Reborn._

“Hi.” He breathed. He pressed his free hand against his thigh, trying to stop it’s shaking.

He shot Takeshi a look, who gave a last encouraging nod before standing up and leaving the room.

“Tsuna,” Reborn said. He sounded almost, relieved? “Tsuna.”

“Yes?” He asked, heart in his throat.

“Tsuna, I missed you so much. I couldn’t get a hold of you and was getting really worried. Were you avoiding me? Did I do something to make you uncomfortable? I–”

“What?” Tsuna asked, confused. “No. No, no. I thought _I_ did something to offend _you_!”

“What? No, not at all.”

“But then–” Tsuna cut himself off, wondering if he really wanted to know. “Why didn’t you answer any of my texts? Or my voicemails?”

“Texts– Tsuna, I didn’t receive any texts or voicemails. In fact, I sent you a lot of both.”

“What?” Tsuna choked out, tears forming in his eyes again.

“Tsuna?” Reborn asked, concern coating his voice.

“Reborn.” Tsuna sobbed, feeling a few tears fall down his cheeks. “Is it true that you’re tired of me? You’re sick waiting for me and I’m a waste of time?”

He heard Reborn suck in a sharp breath on the other line.

“ _What?_ ” Reborn asked. “Tsuna– Who told you that?”

“Bianchi.” Tsuna forced out. He was so tired, he just wanted this to be resolved. “I– I– She– You just disappeared, and you wouldn’t respond to anything I sent you so I met with her. She told me you were tired of waiting, and that I wasted your time, and– and–”

He broke out in a sob.

“Tsuna, _no_. God, no. Of course I don’t think that.” Genuine emotion colored Reborn’s words. Concern, outrage, shock, they were all on open display for once. “Listen, _baby_ , I need you to listen ok?”

“Ok.” He said, sniffling.

“Alright. I want you to put me on speakerphone. Then find my contact and see if I’m blocked. Can you do that for me, love?”

He nodded, before realizing Reborn couldn’t see him.

“Yeah.” He said hoarsely.

He put Reborn on speakerphone and searched for his name in contacts.

Another wave of tears fell when the screen popped up.

“Tsuna? Baby?”

“It–It’s– You’re blocked, but I– I never did that, I swear.”

“Oh, baby, I believe you.” Reborn’s voice was softer than ever. Their conversations were usually filled with sarcastic comments and teasing. To hear Reborn take such a gentle tone made him think maybe it was possible for Reborn to feel the same. Maybe he cared, not as a fling, not as a passing interest. Maybe he really was as in love as Tsuna was. “I was just looking at my contact and it’s the same thing. Someone else must not have wanted us speaking to each other.”

“But who?” He asked, suppressing more cries. The obvious answer was Bianchi, but he just couldn’t see her going so far, completely out of the blue.

“Bianchi,” Reborn said.

“But–”

“Shh, shh, I know what you’re going to say, and I agree. Thing is, a few days before the last time we all hung out together she asked for us to get back together. I said no.”

Tsuna paused. “Oh. But–” He shook his head. “Nevermind. I guess that makes sense, but I still want to ask her after we get a chance to talk. And– This is kind of off-topic, but where did you go?”

“We had a family emergency. My mother was in a car accident and ended up in the hospital for a bit so I flew back to Italy. And yeah, I agree, I’d like to talk with her. And see you.”

“Oh my gosh, is your mom ok? I–”

“Hey.” Reborn cut him off with a small chuckle. “Yeah, she’s ok. It wasn’t anything too serious. I just stayed behind to help her out around the house. I’m back now though. Can we meet tomorrow?”

“I– Yes, we can, but I’ll have to take the train back to Tokyo.”

“Take the train?” Reborn asked. “Where are you?”

“I’m in Namimori.”

“Namimori? Were you going to visit your mom? But I thought–”

“Yeah. I know we talked about me telling her no next time she called, but then… Then I thought I’d lost you, and–” Tsuna took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I never made it to her place, I’m staying with a… friend. He’s actually the one who encouraged me to call.”

“Oh yeah? Thank him for me. If you’re there, are you sure you want to come back tomorrow? We can do it another time.”

“No! No, I want to. I need to see you.” Tsuna said quickly.

“Yeah.” Reborn breathed. “Yeah, me too. I’ll come pick you up at the train station.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

The second the doors opened Tsuna squeezed out onto the platform.

He knew he was probably becoming a nuisance with the way he was shoving through the crowd, but he couldn’t help it.

He needed to see Reborn.

Immediately.

He stopped, scanning the emptying platform for the businessman.

“Tsuna.” A familiar voice said into his ear. He whipped around, taking in the sight of the raven.

Without another moment to spare he threw himself into Reborn’s arms.

He tucked his face into the crook of the raven’s neck, inhaling the smell of him and his laundry detergent. Reveling in the way Reborn’s arms folded around his waist.

“Tsuna,” Reborn said again, reverently, this time only a whisper.

He looked up, tears gathering in his eyes, and smiled as brightly as he could.

“I love you.” He choked out.

The smile Reborn shot back was stunning, but not nearly as breathtaking as when he said the words, “I love you too.”

**_“From every wound there is a scar, and every scar tells a story.  
A story that says ‘I survived’” _ **

****

****

**_Craig Scott_ ******

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Tsuna. He deserves the world and I'm not sure why I keep putting him through these things...  
> Anyway! Feel free to comment on everything you liked or didn't like, and if you noticed anything weird/any mistakes please let me know!!!


End file.
